The last time the Gators welcomed a ranked opponent to Gainesville, Florida’s players experienced the closest game they have seen in their three years with the team.
So it was a surprise when Tuesday night’s game was one of the most one-sided wins they have had all season.
No. 4 Florida (9-2) set the tone early and did not look back as it scored a team-record 17 first-half goals in a 20-4 win over No. 8 Dartmouth (5-1) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The 20 goals were the most the Gators have ever scored against a ranked opponent.
In its last home game against a top-20 team, a 12-11 double overtime loss to Syracuse on March 3, Florida fell behind 4-0 in the first half. Coach Amanda O’Leary said getting the quick start on Tuesday was integral to the win.
“Whenever you can come out on any lead, whether it is one goal or five goals, it’s going to be an emotional lift to your team,” O’Leary said.
The Gators jumped out to a 5-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game with junior attacker Kitty Cullen scoring two of the goals.
In that same time span, Florida held Dartmouth to just one shot and the Big Green only passed the UF restraining line twice.
Florida was able to disrupt Dartmouth in transition during the run by forcing the visitors to commit five of their eventual 15 turnovers.
Junior goalkeeper Mikey Meagher intercepted a pass from Big Green midfielder Kirsten Goldberg on the first possession of the game, allowing Cullen to travel down the field and score the first of her five goals on the night.
After a free-position shot from junior attacker Gabi Wiegand was saved with 24:01 left in the half, the Big Green got the ball out in transition, but Gators freshman midfielder Shannon Gilroy was able to force a turnover.
Junior midfielder Brittany Dashiell put the Gators up 4-0 with one of her three goals on the ensuing possession.
“We just worked really hard to try and get the ball back as much as possible and keep it in our offensive end,” Cullen said.
When Wiegand failed to complete a pass to junior attacker Ashley Bruns in the 11th minute, Big Green goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello briefly controlled the ball before Cullen forced her to turn it over out of bounds.
On the inbounds play, Cullen found Bruns who wrapped around the right post for the goal, and the Gators lead by at least five the rest of the game.
“Right when I checked [Giovanniello], Ashley kind of just split from me and I was able to get the turnover and pass it to her right away,” Cullen said.
The Florida defense was equally impressive in the win, holding the Big Green scoreless in the second half on 11 shots. Junior defender Sam Farrell said the defense was well versed in what the Big Green wanted to do offensively.
“They were really big on their cutters and back doors and we worked a lot on that in practice this past week,” Farrell said.
Florida attacker Kitty Cullen splits two Dartmouth defenders while attacking the goal during the Gators’ 20-4 win against the Big Green on Tuesday. Cullen scored five goals.
